The Miami Heat almost had enough to get another win on Monday night, but there were unable to come up with a victory. Knowing the end already, the game started out rocky for the Miami Heat.
Allowing the Blazers to get out, 6-0, before they would even score a point, Kyle Lowry would eventually put them on the board with a three-pointer.
After that though, it would still get to 10-3 before the Miami Heat would score their next basket and this was after a three had been changed to a two for Portland, making the original “6-0” run a 5-0 start.
Either way, the Miami Heat would pull back close and eventually go up pretty well on the Blazers. Carrying a, 60-53, lead into the halftime break, the Miami Heat were able to execute and succeed using their ball and man movement style of play to great effect.
The ball had energy, so each individual player had energy. And when you get that type of kinetic movement flowing throughout the team, it translates to both sides of the ball, as it was for Miami for most of the game.
A Game Of ‘Almosts’ Gets Miami Heat Beat By Portland, 110-107
That’s just it though. They, only, almost did enough.
Playing that way for most of the game, they would allow themselves to revert back into a more stagnant style of play over the last eight minutes or so of the contest. That allowed the Blazers to close a lead that was close to double digits heading into the fourth period.
The last minute or so of the game was very crucial.
The teams would go back and forth, trading baskets and free throws.
It eventually came down to a Miami Heat possession with 8.5 seconds left on the game clock, one that saw them down three with a chance to tie. And after a series of passes, Max Strus would sink what many thought would be the biggest shot of the game, a contested three-pointer from the bottom side corner.
Tieing the ball game at 107 all, elation spread throughout the building as the Heat were surely about to force an overtime period, right? Wrong—all wrong.
Miami Heat Momentary Lapse Allowed An Easy Look For Josh Hart Game Winner
Again and with the theme of “almost” still being in play, the Miami Heat almost gave themselves a shot to win with the huge Strus hit.
As fast as elation spread across Heat fans over Strus’s make to tie the game, the Blazers’ Damian Lillard would push the ball down the court in the remaining six seconds, finding Josh Hart for a wide-open look at a game-winning three-pointer.
Swish. The game was over.
Though confusion rang out among most of the people involved in the game over that sequence, the players on the court have to be aware. There is no excuse.
Players make shots, as they are pros and you expect that from the world’s best. But for the Heat to look as out of sync as they did, while the attempt was as stress-free as it was, now that is tough to take.
The Miami Heat can build on this one though, as this was a really well-played game by them, perhaps, their best of the year. They just couldn’t close it the right way and that’s what probably hurts the most.